PRST STD U.S.POSTAGE PAID TWIN CITIES MN PERMIT NO. 6391
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THE VOICE OF BLACK MINNESOTA SINCE 1934
February 16 - 22, 2023
Vol. 89
www.spokesman-recorder.com
Phone: 612-827-4021
No. 29
Store closings in North Mpls a hardship for many
By Cole Miska Contributing Writer
MPS delays search for new superintendent By Cole Miska Contributing Writer
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ing to Director El-Amin, the board did not have enough engagement with students, fter delaying its staff and parents to be cominitial deadline of fortable proceeding with July 1, 2023, to candidates for the position. name a new super“We have heard from the intendent to replace interim Superintendent Rochelle Cox, the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) Board of Education is working to focus on what qualifications to look for in a candidate for the position. MPS Board Chair Sharon El-Amin said the search was delayed to allow new board members, who began in January, to have a voice in defining the search. El- Minneapolis Public Schools Amin says the extended Board Chair Sharon El-Amin search will allow the board Twitter/Sharon El-Amin to be aligned on what qualities to look for in a candidate. community very loud and Another major reason clear that they want this to for the delay was so the be a very transparent proboard could gather more cess. That they want to be community input. Accord■ See SEARCH on page 5
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ebruary will see the closing of two stores in North Minneapolis—the Aldi on Lowry and Penn closed Sunday, Feb. 12, and the Walgreens on Broadway and North Lyndale is closing next week on Feb. 22. “ALDI has made the difficult decision to close our store at 3120 Penn Avenue N. in Minneapolis due to the inability to renovate the store to accommodate our larger product range and our current lease term expiring,” said an Aldi spokesperson in an email to MSR. “We will continue to proudly serve the residents of Minneapolis at our other area stores, including our store at 5620 Broadway Avenue, just a few miles from this location, as well as five other ALDI stores within a 15-minute drive of this location. We thank our customers for their years of loyalty at this location and look forward to seeing them in nearby stores soon.” ■ See CLOSINGS on page 5
(above) Aldi at 3120 Penn Avenue in North Minneapolis closed its doors, leaving residents with few grocery store options. (left) North Minneapolis Walgreens slated to close Feb. 22. Photos by Chris Juhn
Metro Transit continues hiring despite driver assault concerns
By H. Jiahong Pan Contributing Writer
Tangie Alanwoko, who relocated to the Twin Cities and once drove buses for the Toronto Transit Commission, was one of those people. n the bright and airy break room of Metro Transit’s new North “Interacting with people is my cup Loop garage one Saturday morn- of tea,” said Alanwoko. “I don’t like ing, about 150 people gathered, to be stuffy and sit in offices all the some sitting in chairs, some munch- time with just walls and walls, or ing on cookies while others waited windows that you can look out [of] to be interviewed for a chance to without any interaction with people.” For years, Metro Transit, like drive a bus for the agency.
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other agencies across the nation, has desperately sought drivers for their buses. The pandemic made the problem worse as riders retreated to their homes and worked remotely in the early days. Its drivers were idle, and some quit or retired. Currently, the agency is short about 300 drivers compared to 2019. In the last two years, the agency organized monthly hiring events
and worked with the union that represents Metro Transit drivers to increase their wages. It appears the hiring efforts may be paying off, and there might not be service cuts in March. However, the agency continues to struggle with difficult working conditions that have attracted federal scrutiny and threaten to drive away their drivers new and old. In October, the Federal Transit
Tangie Alanwoko (right) relocated to the Twin Cities after being a bus driver in Toronto.
Administration asked Metro Transit, along with eight other transit agencies in the U.S. serving large metropolitan areas, to describe how they are mitigating assaults after learning those agencies comprised close to 80 percent of reported operator assaults nationwide. Manny Butler was one of those drivers who were assaulted. “[It was ■ See TRANSIT on page 5
Photos by Chris Juhn
Remembering the Montford Point Marines Black WWII servicemen ultimately recognized with Congressional Gold Medal By Julie Gordon Contributing Writer
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n June 25, 1941, more than 160 years after the United States Marine Corps was established, President Franklin Roosevelt—at the urging of civil rights activist A. Phillips Randolph and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt—issued Executive Order 8802 prohibiting discrimination in the defense industry. Though this decree removed barriers based on race, creed, color, or national origin, it did not completely lift segregation across the U.S. armed forces. That would come seven years later under President Truman. In the summer of 1942, the first Black Marines arrived at Montford Point Camp, a 1,600-acre wooded swamp near Jacksonville, North Carolina. The first recruits not only were tasked with clearing the land and build-
ing their own barracks, but they also had to train in the harsh conditions while their White counterparts benefited from considerably better accommodations at nearby Camp Lejeune. Several accounts suggest the U.S. Marines, the last branch of the military to allow people of color to enlist, were initially unwelcoming to the Montford Point Marines. In fact, the commandant of the Marine Corps at the time, Maj. Gen. Thomas Holcomb, when asked whether he would want a Marine Corps of 5,000 Whites or 250,000 Negroes, he responded “I would rather have the Whites.” During the 1940s, nearly 20,000 Montford Point Marines trained at the camp, with many of them deployed overseas, including the historic Battle of Okinawa. While history books, movies and news articles feature heroic stories about the Tuskegee Airmen and the Buffalo soldiers, it seems that the
thousands of men who trained at Montford Point and literally changed the face of the Marines are oft-forgotten. One man, Retired Marine Master Gunnery Sgt. Joseph H. Geeter, is dedicated to changing this narrative. The MSR recently had the opportunity to sit down with Geeter (JG) to hear what the Montford Point Marine Association is doing to honor the lives and legacy of the men who served. MSR: When did the Montford Point Marine Association start, and what is its mission? JG: We got started 20 years after WWII in September 1965, when many Montford ‘Pointers’ wanted to get together for a reunion and renew old friendships. Four hundred people showed up at the Adelphia hotel in Philadelphia—professionals, teachers and business owners. ■ See MONTFORD on page 5
Twin Cities native Hosea Roberson (above) was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his service in WWII as a Montford Point Marine. Roberson is featured in this week’s Photo of the Week, page 2. Submitted photo